Preparing for Christmas is a year-round job for a “reindeer whisperer” near Rugeley.

Phil Endsor, reindeer expert and founder of the UK’s only dedicated mobile reindeer husbandry service, The Reindeer Whisperer, is based in Abbots Bromley but travels the length and breadth of the country throughout the year taking care of reindeer for petting farms; tourist attractions; Christmas tree growers; garden centres and private owners.

He works 364 days of the year (even he gets Christmas Day off) as Rudolph and friends need a bit more than a carrot to get them in tip top condition ahead of the hectic Christmas season.

Santa’s reindeer may originate from Lapland but there are estimated to be more than 2,000 now living in the UK. These reindeer are on the whole thriving; however, as undomesticated animals, they do need very careful care and attention to ensure they stay in good health throughout the year, as Phil explained.

“Caring for reindeer is quite a specialist and year-round task which even the most dedicated and experienced owners sometimes need a helping hand with,” he said.

“Until I established The Reindeer Whisperer there was very little husbandry support for reindeer owners across the country and no-one offering a completely mobile service. The ability to care for reindeer in their own surroundings, within their own herd, ensures minimal intervention and stress for them which further helps with their health and well-being.

“This does mean I end up travelling hundreds of miles across the country on a weekly basis but it’s a job I love doing and get a huge sense of satisfaction from doing.”

Although caring for reindeer is a year-round task for The Reindeer Whisperer, Phil gets increasingly busy when the festive season approaches.

“Christmas is when all the hard work my clients and I have put in throughout the year comes to fruition,” he said.

“All the months training, developing specialist diets to ensure adequate weight gain and undertaking regular husbandry come together to ensure the reindeer look their best and are in perfect health ready to meet the public.

During October and November Phil works seven days a week, travelling as far afield as Yorkshire and Devon to Leicestershire and Oxfordshire, undertaking final checks and any last-minute maintenance.

“If a reindeer hasn’t put weight on during the summer months there’s very little that can be done at this late stage – the foundations just aren’t in place,” explains Phil. “What I focus on now is building on the work undertaken throughout the year to make sure the reindeer, and their owners, are set up properly for a great season and able to add Christmas magic to the festivities they attend.”

Phil outlined that one priority at this time of year is undertaking refresher training as, after spending an entire summer out in the fields, reindeer can selectively forget how to ‘work’.

Phil puts a reindeer through its paces

“I’m fortunate to have clients who put the health and welfare of their reindeer first so they would never put them in a situation unprepared,” Phil said.

“I work with their reindeer all year, training them on how to stand, walk ‘in hold’ and even pull a sleigh and it’s always beneficial, and reassuring, to revisit this in the weeks before the season starts to make sure the reindeer remember what they need to do and how to behave in public!”

It’s not just the reindeer who get trained at this time of year – Phil also trains volunteers at an animal charity on how to handle their reindeer during Christmas events. This training is focused on ensuring that the handlers can load and unload the reindeer correctly, fit their harnesses and talk knowledgeably about the reindeer to the general public.

Phil talks to youngsters about reindeer

“Public engagement and understanding is a huge part of why reindeer owners across the UK go out during Christmas so it’s really important to make sure correct information is given,” said Phil.

As if all that training wasn’t enough, Phil also undertakes pre-season health checks during November to give the reindeer in his care a good spruce up – checking they are wormed, have a vitamin boost and a good foot trim to ensure no slipping on those roofs.

When he returns from a busy day cuddling, or as he says “working”, with reindeer, Phil’s daily tasks continue with fulfilling orders for reindeer supplies including his own Reindeer Whisperer feed, lichen, head collars and other essential items. Luckily for Phil The Reindeer Whisperer is a family business and at this time of year it’s all hands-on deck with his wife Kerry, and children helping with this less physical side of the business.

Once December hits and the season gets into full swing the husbandry side of the business quietens down and Phil goes into show mode.

“As the season is so short it’s important that my clients are able to work as much as possible during this period, sometimes this means they need an extra pair of hands for events and it’s really rewarding for me to be able to see first-hand the public reaction to these beautiful animals and their appreciation for the work that goes into making them so healthy.”

After seven weeks of full on Christmas preparations Phil admits that it’s great to have some down time between Christmas and New Year, but he stresses that it’s short lived, as the cycle of preparing reindeer for Christmas 2018 will start in earnest in January – there’s definitely no rest for this particular Santa’s helper.